Permafrost Eyes
by AKJSESW
Summary: Jack Frost and Elsa meet in a fan fiction version of Frozen 2.
1. Author's Note

**Hi there. Let's begin with a few assumptions about the world I'll be writing about. **

**First: These characters are all from the movies Frozen and Rise of the Guardians. They're not mine. This is purely fan made and not intended for profit. Promise.**

**Second: I understand that the world of Frozen is set in the 1840's, while the Guardians' is set in present day. To combat this and create a believable setting, I've decided that in this story Arendelle and the other island kingdoms are part of a historical experiment started after WWII. The people are in an isolated, no fly zone in Norway where their culture and interactions are studied by a group of scientists integrated into the villages. For the most part this information isn't important at all to the story, and simply serves as a backdrop to make it possible for Jack and Elsa to even meet in the first place.**

**Third: The royalty involved in this experiment are aware that the world outside their islands is different and dangerous, but none know the details beyond that. The experimenters let them in on it so they could be used to explain away any mistakes to their subjects.**

**Fourth: Let's assume that powers like Elsa's are extraordinary but not unheard of in the modern world, so she hasn't been swept up by scientists eager to study her. **

**That about covers it. This is my first work of fan fiction, and I'd greatly appreciate feedback of all kinds. **

**Happy reading!**


	2. Chapter 1: Elsa

Chapter 1 Elsa

She rubbed her temples, her sharp elbows digging into the old wooden desk she'd been working at for hours. The rest of the castle had gone to bed shortly after the crescent moon rose and she had promised herself she would follow suit before the candles burned out, but now it was dipping towards it's daytime rest beyond the horizon and still she sat, rubbing and sighing and struggling with stacks of documents. The ink from signing hundreds of pieces of parchment was smudged on her fingertips and temples, black smears on ivory skin. Her neat braid, so carefully done and styled earlier that morning was coming undone in an unattractive frayed look. Admitting defeat with both it and her work, Elsa rose and pulled out the ties holding back her tresses. Running her fingers through the long, blond hair to comb it out she sighed, moving towards her window.

/_So much to do still… The flowers still need arranging, the cake needs finishing, the sandwiches the bows the ribbon the DRESS/ _Shaking her head Elsa cut herself short, stopping the extensive list before it could become an all out panic attack. The wedding was still two weeks off, but she worried and fussed over both Anna and Kristoff like a mother hen. After two years of courtship and a solid month of pestering, she had granted her blessing to the engagement of the young couple at the Winter Festival. Now, a mere season later, she worried that there wouldn't be enough time to pull off the Summer Festival wedding Anna had always dreamed of.

Of course, Anna herself was doing as much as possible to help her sister. Elsa smiled at her reflection as she stared off into the night, remembering how Anna had 'helped' the floral expert pick out her bridal bouquet by getting too excited and knocking down her table full of examples. The poor woman then had to deal with the eager princess insisting on helping her clean up, thoroughly getting in the way of everyone. Elsa's smile quickly stretched into a yawn and she turned from the window to her bed, already drifting off to a happy list of things she had completed throughout the day. Crawling under the covers, still in her work dress, the queen happily allowed her heavy lids to droop closed, falling into a blissful sleep to the thought of her checklist growing shorter with each passing day.

/_So warm… Why am I so warm? The trees… are they melting? No, that can't be right. The world simply doesn't work that way. Trees, you must stop melting on order of the Queen. Your melting is ruining the wedding./ Elsa looked around. The wedding looked pristine, everything in its proper place. She sighed contentedly and started down the aisle towards her place in front, stopping short with a swell in the music. /They're playing it at the wrong time, they need to wait for Anna… ANNA!/ Her exasperated thought towards the musicians was cut off as she caught sight of Anna and Kristoff sitting happily in the front row, Anna waving furiously back at her. Glancing down, she gasped. Her dress was as white as new snow, long and graceful, with blue sapphires sewn into the hem and bodice. Looking back up, she caught sight of the man at the alter. Tall and thin, he turned to smile at her in a flash of dazzling teeth-_

With a start, Elsa awoke. Disoriented and sweating from her strange dream, she at first didn't identify the noise that woke her until she heard it again. A loud, piercing scream sounded throughout the halls of the castle and before Elsa had even consciously registered it she was out of bed and through her door. Following the sound to its source she skidded to a stop in front of the main drawing room, bursting through the doors to help the screamer.

"Anna! Anna are you… okay?" Elsa slowed and blinked at the sight in the room. So different from the blood bath the scream had conjured up in her minds eye, the drawing room had only Anna, Kristoff and the head seamstress inside. Anna turned to her sister with delight shining from her eyes and threw herself on the blonde in an ungainly hug as her fiancée and the seamstress both uncovered their ears cautiously.

"Elsa! Elsa! Isn't it the most majestic, beautiful, stunning thing you've ever seen? Isn't it perfect and fabulous and gorgeous and-" Holding up a kind yet firm hand, Elsa stopped Anna's descriptive ramblings and examined the 'majestic thing' herself.

Carefully draped on a specially carved wooden bust was the dress. While still requiring a few stitches here and there, it was obvious that Elsa wasn't the only one to have stayed up late into the night in an effort to please the happy couple. The seamstress practically glowed as Anna oohed and aahed appreciatively over her handiwork and Elsa had to admit; it was a marvel. The fabric was perfect; hugging the body just enough but not too much while the body of the dress itself was clearly chosen to accentuate the natural curves of her rather skinny and un-curvy sister. The color choice, the train, the sleeves, the neckline- all perfect decisions. Elsa made a mental note to bring the seamstress back in for her own wedding-

/_Wait, what? No… that dream just rattled me. Strange... the stress must be getting to me…/ _Shoving her mental discussion aside, Elsa tried her best to both appreciate the gown with Anna and recover from the heart attack of waking up to such screams. Watching the couple compliment the dress together, Elsa suddenly remembered all the other tiny details that needed her attention and felt the sudden urge to run. Run as far and as fast as the winds would take her, leaving all responsibilities behind…

"Elsa?" Snapping out of her reverie, she noticed Anna and Kristoff looking at her with concern. Anna walked over and put a steadying hand on her sisters' shoulder. "You know, you've been working pretty hard lately. Do you need a vacation?" Her big brown eyes showed love and worry for the queen, even though she felt like she watched Elsa struggle with the weight of command from across an ocean.

Like a break in an ice flow, Elsa suddenly smiled. Her sister might not understand everything about being queen, but Anna knew her sister's moods and that was all that mattered. "I would love one Anna, honest" She reassured the younger, taking her arm in a comforting motion "But I can't leave now. The wedding's so close and there's still so much to do. I'll take my vacation after, promise." Of course, the last of this was a lie. In Elsa's point of view no royal could ever truly take a vacation- it was highly irresponsible.

Laughing and startling the two girls, Kristoff came up to his soon-to-be sister in-law and put one big hand on her other shoulder. "Everything's practically done already and whatever isn't can't be more than we can handle, right?" He grinned at the opposites, one dubious, the other infatuated. Relenting and becoming slightly more serious for the elder of the two he insisted nonetheless. "C'mon Elsa- you really need this." Anna nodded enthusiastically at his elbow, her eyes pleading silently for her sister to relax before the stress killed her.

Exasperated, Elsa held up her hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll take a few days at the ice castle and relax, okay? But" she interrupted their joyous celebrating quickly "if anything happens you come get me right then and there, okay?" Both nodding and promising the moon and stars, they shooed her out the door to pack and dress for her trek up the mountain. Smiling as she walked back to her room, she shook her head at them. /_As if they truly think I don't know why they want me gone for a little while. Still, a vacation could be just what I need…/_


	3. Chapter 2: Jack

Chapter 2 Jack

The rush of wind through his snow white hair brought a flurry of snowflakes with it, twirling through the air and disappearing against the blank grey sky. The frozen landscape below matched the sky above, the greys blending together and blurring the line between earth and air. Staring down at the cold, inhospitable region that was considered by many to be the most dangerous place on the planet, Jack still managed a smile. The ice and snow that others viewed as harsh and deadly caught the meager light and became a world of breathtaking beauty that few could appreciate; the blues and greys shifting with the winds, dancing across the rocks and ground with an otherworldly grace. The colors trapped within each piece of ice were as unique as snowflakes, combining purples, greys, blues and whites into a dazzling spectrum of alien allure that could mesmerize, enchant and transfix anybody until they too became a part of the frozen landscape.

However, in Jack's mind the tundra's elegance and the wind's arctic teeth took a backburner to his current task. Scanning the swirling snow and ice with eyes the same color as the glaciers, he searched for a clue that would aid him in his hunt; a lonely feather on the breeze, score marks on a ledge from a rough landing. He had been away from the pole for days now, moving slowly across the paths his quarry had taken until the storm hit and destroyed all markers. Now he flew aimlessly, hoping against hope to reestablish the trail and find the creatures responsible for so much destruction. As the sky began to darken towards nightfall Jack was tempted to give up and go back empty handed, despite knowing that if he did he would probably never find the strange creatures behind everything going on.

A sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, a blur of black on grey. Turning to empty air he saw the movement again just before something struck him, sending him tumbling head over heels towards the earth below. Managing to right himself before crashing to the ice, he shot off after the blur before it could disappear into the darkening sky. Flying into the wind, Jack squinted as he struggled to keep up with the blackness far in front of him. As fast as the winds propelling him were, the being he chased still stayed ahead of him as they shot through the air like cannon balls. Harnessing a particularly strong gust Jack began to gain on his prey as the storm around them increased, the sky darkening until the creature disappeared into the clouds.

Frustrated, he pulled up short. Twisting and turning, he tried desperately to find any remnant of clues through the storm even as rain began to pour down like the heavens had sprung a leak. Quickly drenched, Jack jumped as a bolt of lightning lit up the dark sky so close he could feel the heat searing his clothes and flesh. With new urgency, Frost allowed himself to drop through the air towards the ground with the hope that there would be both earth and safety below him. Landing in a thick forest darker than the sky above he felt the need to find a safe place for the night, a feeling he had never felt before. Almost as if he inexplicably knew that the storm wasn't safe, wasn't natural.

Ducking under a nearby felled tree Jack curled his long, lanky frame into the shallow depression in the earth in an effort to keep the majority of his body under the relative safety of the tree. Holding tight to his staff and breathing heavily he listened to the winds howling angrily above, shivering at each crash of thunder and starting as each bolt of lightning split the sky. For a long while he simply existed, alert to every sound outside his hideaway. Eventually he slipped into the waking trance that qualified for sleep among spirits, becoming still and quiet until he would have passed for dead to anyone who viewed him.

_The drums beat out a rhythm on the earth, the flutes wove a complex melody through the air. A huge tent, airy and spacious, filled with hundreds of people he didn't know. He wended his way through the dancing and chatting throngs, occasionally apologizing for stepping on toes or responding to murmured thanks. The air was warm and balmy around him, like a summer night. This temperature change made Jack uncomfortable, but he continued searching through the crowds. /Searching? For what?/ The realization that he had a purpose there came at the same time as the crowd parted, revealing the goal of his search. A tall, slender woman stood mere feet away laughing freely as she turned to meet his gaze in a flash of sparkling eyes-_

Waking with a start, Jack realized he had his hand outstretched as if reaching towards the mysterious woman in his dream. Shaking his head, he stretched his way out of his shallow warren under the tree and stood tall under the canopy of trees. The sky above was still a dark, threatening grey, as if the storm had merely been waiting for him to reveal his hiding place in order to continue the maelstrom of the night before. Shuddering, Jack shoved his premonitions aside and leapt into the wind.

Rising into the sky above the woods, he scanned the area for any sign of the creature he'd been following. He'd landed in a small wooded area just below the start of a tall, sheer mountainside where the trees thinned out and the snow thickened into a soft white cap at the top. Scanning the snow he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow against the white, racing across the top of the ice. Pinning his arms to his sides Jack shot towards the ground like an arrow, aiming at the creature with his staff as he went. Swinging like a baseball player, a bolt of ice shot from the staff to stop the shadow in its tracks. Grinning like a maniac, Jack landed beside the new ice sculpture, examining it for only a few seconds before the grin was wiped from his face.

The creature inside was unlike anything he'd ever seen; feathers as black as tar covered the humanoid body from head to foot in the back, the plumage reminding him of a crow or raven. But around the front the body was pale and pink, covered in a loose cloth slung over one shoulder like a Roman toga. Under the toga was a definite female form, but where arms should have been were only giant, black feathered wings, each one as long as Jack was tall. Looking down, he noticed the feet ended in grotesque talons, four on each foot and each as black and sharp as a razor blade. But the face of the creature was the focal point, the thing that transformed this almost human into simply humanoid in shape. The feathers crested on top of the head, continuing down the face where they faded into skin at the cheekbones. Where the nose and mouth should have been the feathers melted into a short sharp beak, the hard, lined beauty of the face accentuated by the contrast between skin and feathers.

A sudden crack shook the earth like a thunderclap. Jack, enthralled with his catch, came back to the world just in time to notice the circle of bird-woman closing in on him from all sides. The crack sounded again, emanating from the ice prison where the first creature was frozen still. Not waiting for a third crack to free her Jack took off, fighting his way through the horde of bird-woman to reach the sky. Racing up the side of the mountain, he slung ice over his shoulders at his pursuers as he desperately tried to spot somewhere safe to land and hide. He knew he wouldn't survive a direct encounter with 20 or more of those creatures; from what he'd observed they were wicked fast, crafty and able to see him coming from a mile off.

A flash and bloom of bright pain burst colors behind his eyes and he began to spiral to the earth as the beast who struck him cawed in delight and swooped down to finish him. Desperate, he twisted in midair and swung in blindness, grinning as he heard the solid thwack of ice on bird bones. His victory was cut short when he landed heavily on a snowy ledge somewhere up the mountain, still blind and now out off breath as well. Struggling to stand and see his enemy he heard a strange crackling sound, like ice forming over a lake in the winter. Still only barely sitting up, Jack felt something brush past him and heard angry squawking and painful screeching. Feeling his grip on reality slipping he reached towards the presence he had felt near him, trying to grip something that would tell him friend or foe. Helplessly sliding into darkness, the last thing Jack remembered was the feeling of silken ice against his fingertips.


End file.
